1 Samuel 3-5
1SA.3
The LORD Calls Samuel
1And the boy Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli.
Now in those days the word of the LORD was rare, and visions were scarce. 2And at that time Eli, whose eyesight had grown so dim that he could not see, was lying in his room.
3Before the lamp of God had gone out, Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was located.
4Then the LORD called to Samuel, and he answered, “Here I am.”
5He ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you have called me.”
“I did not call,” Eli replied. “Go back and lie down.”
So he went and lay down.
6Once again the LORD called, “Samuel!”
So Samuel got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you have called me.”
“My son, I did not call,” Eli replied. “Go back and lie down.”
7Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, because the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him. 8Once again, for the third time, the LORD called to Samuel. He got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you have called me.”
Then Eli realized that it was the LORD who was calling the boy. 9“Go and lie down,” he said to Samuel, “and if He calls you, say, ‘Speak, LORD, for Your servant is listening.’”
So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10Then the LORD came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!”
And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.”
11Then the LORD said to Samuel, “I am about to do something in Israel at which the ears of all who hear it will tingle. 12On that day I will carry out against Eli everything I have spoken about his house, from beginning to end. 13I told him that I would judge his house forever for the iniquity of which he knows, because his sons blasphemed God and he did not restrain them. 14Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli, ‘The iniquity of Eli’s house shall never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.’”
Samuel Shares the Vision
15Samuel lay down until the morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the LORD. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision, 16but Eli called to him and said, “Samuel, my son.”
“Here I am,” answered Samuel.
17“What was the message He gave you?” Eli asked. “Do not hide it from me. May God punish you, and ever so severely, if you hide from me anything He said to you.”
18So Samuel told him everything and did not hide a thing from him.
“He is the LORD,” replied Eli. “Let Him do what is good in His eyes.”
19And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and He let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground.
20So all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the LORD. 21And the LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, because there He revealed Himself to Samuel by His word.
1SA.4
The Philistines Capture the Ark
1Thus the word of Samuel came to all Israel.
Now the Israelites went out to meet the Philistines in battle and camped at Ebenezer, while the Philistines camped at Aphek. 2The Philistines arrayed themselves against Israel, and as the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who struck down about four thousand men on the battlefield.
3When the troops returned to the camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why has the LORD brought defeat on us before the Philistines today? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD from Shiloh, so that it may go with us to save us from the hand of our enemies.”
4So the people sent men to Shiloh, and they brought back the ark of the covenant of the LORD of Hosts, who sits enthroned between the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
5When the ark of the covenant of the LORD entered the camp, all the Israelites raised such a great shout that the ground shook.
6On hearing the noise of the shout, the Philistines asked, “What is this loud shouting in the camp of the Hebrews?”
And when they realized that the ark of the LORD had entered the camp, 7the Philistines were afraid. “The gods have entered their camp!” they said. “Woe to us, for nothing like this has happened before. 8Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness. 9Take courage and be men, O Philistines! Otherwise, you will serve the Hebrews just as they served you. Now be men and fight!”
10So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and each man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great — thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell. 11The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.
The Death of Eli
12That same day a Benjamite ran from the battle line all the way to Shiloh, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. 13When he arrived, there was Eli, sitting on his chair beside the road and watching, because his heart trembled for the ark of God.
When the man entered the city to give a report, the whole city cried out.
14Eli heard the outcry and asked, “Why this commotion?”
So the man hurried over and reported to Eli. 15Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his gaze was fixed because he could not see.
16“I have just come from the battle,” the man said to Eli. “I fled from there today.”
“What happened, my son?” Eli asked.
17The messenger answered, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has been a great slaughter among the people. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are both dead, and the ark of God has been captured.”
18As soon as the ark of God was mentioned, Eli fell backward from his chair by the city gate, and being old and heavy, he broke his neck and died. And Eli had judged Israel forty years.
19Now Eli’s daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and about to give birth. When she heard the news of the capture of God’s ark and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband, she collapsed and gave birth, for her labor pains overtook her.
20As she was dying, the women attending to her said, “Do not be afraid, for you have given birth to a son!”
But she did not respond or pay any heed. 21And she named the boy Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel,” because the ark of God had been captured and her father-in-law and her husband had been killed.
22“The glory has departed from Israel,” she said, “for the ark of God has been captured.”
1SA.5
The Ark Afflicts the Philistines
1After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod, 2carried it into the temple of Dagon, and set it beside his statue.
3When the people of Ashdod got up early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on his face before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and returned him to his place.
4But when they got up early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on his face before the ark of the LORD, with his head and his hands broken off and lying on the threshold. Only the torso remained. 5That is why, to this day, the priests of Dagon and all who enter the temple of Dagon in Ashdod do not step on the threshold.
6Now the hand of the LORD was heavy on the people of Ashdod and its vicinity, ravaging them and afflicting them with tumors. 7And when the men of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not stay here with us, because His hand is heavy upon us and upon our god Dagon.”
8So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines and asked, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?”
“It must be moved to Gath,” they replied. So they carried away the ark of the God of Israel.
9But after they had moved the ark to Gath, the LORD’s hand was also against that city, throwing it into great confusion and afflicting the men of the city, both young and old, with an outbreak of tumors.
10So they sent the ark of God to Ekron, but as it arrived, the Ekronites cried out, “They have brought us the ark of the God of Israel in order to kill us and our people!”
11Then the Ekronites called together all the rulers of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel. It must return to its place, so that it will not kill us and our people!”
For a deadly confusion had pervaded the city; the hand of God was very heavy upon it. 12Those who did not die were afflicted with tumors, and the outcry of the city went up to heaven.
Nehemiah 13
Foreigners Excluded
1At that time the Book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing of the people, and in it they found the passage stating that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God, 2because they had not met the Israelites with food and water, but had hired Balaam to call down a curse against them (although our God had turned the curse into a blessing).
3As soon as the people heard this law, they excluded from Israel all of foreign descent.
The Temple Cleansed
4Now before this, Eliashib the priest, a relative of Tobiah, had been put in charge of the storerooms of the house of our God 5and had prepared for Tobiah a large room where they had previously stored the grain offerings, the frankincense, the temple articles, and the tithes of grain, new wine, and oil prescribed for the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers, along with the contributions for the priests.
6While all this was happening, I was not in Jerusalem, because I had returned to Artaxerxes king of Babylon in the thirty-second year of his reign. Some time later I obtained leave from the king 7to return to Jerusalem. Then I discovered the evil that Eliashib had done on behalf of Tobiah by providing him a room in the courts of the house of God.
8And I was greatly displeased and threw all of Tobiah’s household goods out of the room. 9Then I ordered that the rooms be purified, and I had the articles of the house of God restored to them, along with the grain offerings and frankincense.
Tithes Restored
10I also learned that because the portions for the Levites had not been given to them, all the Levites and singers responsible for performing the service had gone back to their own fields. 11So I rebuked the officials and asked, “Why has the house of God been neglected?”
Then I gathered the Levites and singers together and stationed them at their posts, 12and all Judah brought a tenth of the grain, new wine, and oil into the storerooms. 13I appointed as treasurers over the storerooms Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah of the Levites, with Hanan son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah, to assist them, because they were considered trustworthy. They were responsible for distributing the supplies to their fellow Levites.
14Remember me for this, O my God, and do not blot out my deeds of loving devotion for the house of my God and for its services.
The Sabbath Restored
15In those days I saw people in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath and bringing in grain and loading it on donkeys, along with wine, grapes, and figs. All kinds of goods were being brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. So I warned them against selling food on that day. 16Additionally, men of Tyre who lived there were importing fish and all kinds of merchandise and selling them on the Sabbath to the people of Judah in Jerusalem.
17Then I rebuked the nobles of Judah and asked, “What is this evil you are doing— profaning the Sabbath day? 18Did not your forefathers do the same things, so that our God brought all this disaster on us and on this city? And now you are rekindling His wrath against Israel by profaning the Sabbath!”
19When the evening shadows began to fall on the gates of Jerusalem, just before the Sabbath, I ordered that the gates be shut and not opened until after the Sabbath. I posted some of my servants at the gates so that no load could enter on the Sabbath day.
20Once or twice, the merchants and those who sell all kinds of goods camped outside Jerusalem, 21but I warned them, “Why are you camping in front of the wall? If you do it again, I will lay hands on you.” From that time on, they did not return on the Sabbath. 22Then I instructed the Levites to purify themselves and guard the gates in order to keep the Sabbath day holy.
Remember me for this as well, O my God, and show me mercy according to Your abundant loving devotion.
Intermarriage Forbidden
23In those days I also saw Jews who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. 24Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod or of the other peoples, but could not speak the language of Judah. 25I rebuked them and called down curses on them. I beat some of these men and pulled out their hair.
Then I made them take an oath before God and said, “You must not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters as wives for your sons or for yourselves! 26Did not King Solomon of Israel sin in matters like this? There was not a king like him among many nations, and he was loved by his God, who made him king over all Israel— yet foreign women drew him into sin. 27Must we now hear that you too are doing all this terrible evil and acting unfaithfully against our God by marrying foreign women?”
28Even one of the sons of Jehoiada son of Eliashib the high priest had become a son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite. Therefore I drove him away from me.
29Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites.
30Thus I purified the priests and Levites from everything foreign, and I assigned specific duties to each of the priests and Levites. 31I also arranged for contributions of wood at the appointed times, and for the firstfruits.
Remember me, O my God, with favor.
Acts 4
Peter and John before the Sanhedrin
1While Peter and John were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them, 2greatly disturbed that they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 3They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in custody until the next day. 4But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.
5The next day the rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem, 6along with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and many others from the high priest’s family. 7They had Peter and John brought in and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”
8Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people! 9If we are being examined today about a kind service to a man who was lame, to determine how he was healed, 10then let this be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11This Jesus is
‘the stone you builders rejected,
which has become the cornerstone.’
12Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
The Name Forbidden
13When they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they marveled and took note that these men had been with Jesus. 14And seeing the man who had been healed standing there with them, they had nothing to say in response. 15So they ordered them to leave the Sanhedrin and then conferred together.
16“What shall we do with these men?” they asked. “It is clear to everyone living in Jerusalem that a remarkable miracle has occurred through them, and we cannot deny it. 17But to keep this message from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them not to speak to anyone in this name.”
18Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than God. 20For we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
21After further threats they let them go. They could not find a way to punish them, because all the people were glorifying God for what had happened. 22For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.
The Believers’ Prayer
23On their release, Peter and John returned to their own people and reported everything that the chief priests and elders had said to them. 24When the believers heard this, they lifted up their voices to God with one accord. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “You made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them. 25You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of Your servant, our father David:
‘Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
26The kings of the earth take their stand
and the rulers gather together
against the Lord
and against His Anointed One.’
27In fact, this is the very city where Herod and Pontius Pilate conspired with the Gentiles and the people of Israel against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed. 28They carried out what Your hand and will had decided beforehand would happen. 29And now, Lord, consider their threats, and enable Your servants to speak Your word with complete boldness, 30as You stretch out Your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.”
31After they had prayed, their meeting place was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
Sharing among Believers
32The multitude of believers was one in heart and soul. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they owned. 33With great power the apostles continued to give their testimony about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And abundant grace was upon them all.
34There were no needy ones among them, because those who owned lands or houses would sell their property, bring the proceeds from the sales, 35and lay them at the apostles’ feet for distribution to anyone as he had need.
36Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (meaning Son of Encouragement), 37sold a field he owned, brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
